The NAU diving team emerged from the Air Force Diving Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Jan. 29 and 30 with solid team results, leading up to the WAC Championships in late February.

Saturday marked the final day of competition, and started with the 3-meter dive event, in which three Lumberjacks finished in the top 10 in a field of 28. NAU Junior Lana Christensen finished with the highest score of 270.05 and a fifth-place result, while freshman Kristy Ardavanis and junior Megan Collier also performing strongly, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Diving coach Nikki Huffman said the team performed well as a whole and did not necessarily rely on any individuals.

“We’re a very well-rounded team, and everyone produced good dives,” Huffman said. “Sure, there are always areas to improve on, such as consistency in some dives, but overall I was very happy with the performance.”

The Lumberjacks also achieved quality results in the platform event later in the day, as Collier finished with a score of 177.05 to earn ninth place. Christensen finished in 10th with175.55, closely followed by Ardavanis in 11th with 172.40 points, and sophomores Cassie Anderson and Holly Frost in 12th with 171.45 and 17th with 144.30, respectively.

“The platform is an event that we could certainly improve in,” Huffman said. “But we did well considering that we don’t really have the facilities at NAU. But this was a great little competition for us, as we had a chance to challenge ourselves in a very competitive event. It was definitely helpful in getting us ready for the conference championships.”

The two-day event gave Huffman and her divers the opportunity to try some new dives for upcoming meets, such as the San Diego competition on Feb. 5.

“We played with some new dives, which helps us leading into the meet in San Diego and the championships later next month,” Christensen said.

According to Huffman, the team improved as the event progressed.
“The second day of competition was a solid improvement on the first day, when we may have been inconsistent at times,” Huffman said.

In the second day, NAU earned four finishes inside the top 15. Ardavanis scored highest for the Lumberjacks, with 250.70 points to finish in fifth place.

Fellow Lumberjack Collier finished ninth with a score of 236.70, while Christensen was not far behind with 225.55 points and an 11th-place finish. Anderson and Frost also produced impressive performances, according to Huffman.

As the WAC Championship approaches, the team’s main focus appears to be consistency.

“We all did really well today, and we were definitely more consistent than Friday,” Frost said. “That’s the main thing we need to work on for upcoming events: consistency.”

The NAU diving team will rejoin the swimming team to face San Diego State in San Diego, Calif., on Feb. 5.